Revival
The plays were almost forgotten for hundreds of years. The first major revival was in 1951 in York by E Martin Brown.
In 1969 a production of "The Lincoln Cycle of Mystery Plays" was performed at the Cathedral in conjunction with Lincoln Theatre Royal. Adapted from a translation by Martial Rose. First performance was 23 August 1969. Principal actors were Brian Tree, Brian Protheroe and Alison Steadman. The production was directed by Clare Venables and assisted by Rhys McConnochie.
In 1978, Keith Ramsay revived the Lincoln or N Town plays in Lincoln. He directed nine productions in Lincoln Cathedral and two in Southwell Minster. Keith was invited to present the production at several international conferences on medieval drama. The company performed in Neustadt, Germany; Viterbo, Rome & Camerino Italy; Perpignan, France and Oregon, The United States. This, 1989, was the first time Mystery Plays was performed in the States.
2000 was Mr Ramsay's last production of the Mystery Plays: 2004 saw Karen Crow directing, 2008's production was directed by Geoff Readman and 2012 is under the leadership of John Bowtell.
2011 saw a Gala Night held as a fund raiser (for the 2012 production) and directed by Angela Gunstone pulling together performances and actors from 1969 to present day performers. Attributed to the show of 69, Lincoln Theatre Royal hosted this show. Ian Dickens, artistic director of the Theatre Royal, said: "We're really happy to be working with the Lincoln Mystery Plays Trust. "The plays are very important to the community and it's essential they raise as much funds as possible so they can keep going. We have given the trust the Theatre Royal for that night and anything they manage to raise is theirs to keep." Lincolnshire Echo 13.6.11
Read more about this topic: Lincoln Mystery Plays
Famous quotes containing the word revival:
“I do not think a revival of business will be greatly postponed by [Samuel J.] Tilden’s election. Business prosperity does not, in my judgment, depend on government so much as men commonly think.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Mother goddesses are just as silly a notion as father gods. If a revival of the myths of these cults gives woman emotional satisfaction, it does so at the price of obscuring the real conditions of life. This is why they were invented in the first place.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)